"I Am Your Father."

Hey guys, Drew back here, and today I have to interrupt my Season Preview further to bring you a TTM success I didn't expect to see return anytime soon. I sent this request out on August 22nd of last year, and as time went on I was feeling like it would be more and more unlikely that I would ever get my pictures back. Sure enough though, I was astounded last Friday when these beautiful autographs arrived in my mailbox!

James Earl Jones: 3/3 in 203 Days (Received March 13th)

"No, I am your father". The voice of Darth Vader, Mufasa, and so many other famous characters over the span of a 60 year acting career, James Earl Jones returned 3 signed photos to me for my collection! Jones actually only lives less than a half hour away from me, and is one of the better known celebrities in my county. I've grown up watching so many movies he was featured in, and who couldn't love his booming voice?

I won't pretend to be the expert on his career, but I must say I have enjoyed all the movies he's been a part of. My favorite role of his was as author Terence Mann in Field of Dreams, but you can't go wrong with Darth Vader. I sort of regret not sending a Vader picture for him to sign, but I'm not upset with what I took home. Jones signed my 8x10 of him as Mann standing alongside Kevin Costner and Amy Madigan, along with a Field of Dreams 5x7 promo poster. He also had a small role in The Sandlot, as the scary neighbor nobody wanted to come face to face with. I also had him sign a promo poster for that movie as well! These are perfect for baseball pop culture, and I can tell that the autographs look legitimate.

I haven't been doing very well with TTM's lately, as I'm just 3 for 28 with 2 RTS' with Spring Training so far. But, with Wayne Chrebet and now Jones, I still have had some nice successes in spite of the lackluster Spring Training start. Patience is indeed a virtue, though, and I hope to have more to share with you in the future!

Thank you so much Mr. Jones for your incredible contributions to some of my all time favorite movies, and for signing these for me! 

See Ya!

Autograph of a Star-Lord!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Today was easily one of my best hobby related days in a while. My dad and I attended MAB Celebrity's Pinstripe Pandemonium autograph show in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, and I came home with a nice group of autographs and pictures! I will have plenty to share over the next few weeks to showcase this memorable day, but we're going to start on a bit of a fun note. Along with the autographs I obtained in person, I also bought a few signed items some of the vendors had for sale. The second I saw this signed 8x10, I knew I had to add it to my collection.

None other than Parks & Recreation and Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt! Pratt has been perhaps the breakout actor of 2014 with his role in Galaxy as Peter Quill aka Star-lord, however it was his performance as Andy Dwyer in Parks that really made me a fan of his. My girlfriend Victoria and I watched it all summer together, as I mentioned recently when I showcased my Nick Offerman TTM autograph. It became one of my favorite comedy shows, and it serves as a nice bridge show between crazy horrors and dramas.

Everything I've seen of Chris Pratt has been positive, as I've heard many who can vouch for saying he's a great guy. When recently asked if his rise to stardom tempted him to leave Parks & Rec before their final season, he replied "I would never f------ leave this show. I've been doing this business for 15 years. I realize that the things that really matter are the relationships you have while you're doing them. I could hope that I could have the good fortune of finding another group of people like this, but I don't expect I ever will." It's awfully nice to hear things like this in Hollywood, where these kinds of stories don't usually show themselves in public.

I bought this off of a dealer who exclusively sold celebrity autographs. He told me he worked in the same building as Sirius XM Radio, and he often comes across stars and is able to get all sorts of autographs. The picture is not certified, but the guy had an absolutely enormous stock of signed photos, and I believe in the good of mankind and that he wouldn't be a complete scammer. The picture is of Pratt wearing a "Mouserat" shirt, the name of his fictional Parks & Rec band, and is signed in blue sharpie.

Again, if you haven't checked out Parks & Recreation, I highly recommend it. Between Offerman, Pratt, Amy Poehler, and numerous other great actors, it's one of the best shows on television.

Fun fact on Pratt: He played Scott Hatteberg in Moneyball!

More to come from the Pinstripe Pandemonium! See Ya!

Give Me All the Bacon & Eggs You Have: TTM Return

Hey guys, Drew back here! It is officially one of my favorite days of the year, the Hall of Fame induction day. If you didn't see, yesterday I posted my ballot for the Hall of Fame and my predictions. I'm guessing that 3 players will make it but am hoping for 5 to 6. I guess we will see. 

In the meantime, I got an absolutely awesome TTM back last week from Parks & Recreation star Nick Offerman! My girlfriend and I watched Parks over the course of last summer and loved every second of it (with the exception of the shortened first season, perhaps). Ron Swanson was our favorite character in the show because his stubborn but loving personality was so relatable and hilarious to watch, and I was sure to let Mr. Offerman know that in my letter I sent him.

Nick Offerman: 2/2 in 132 Days (Received December 29th)

Nick signed 2 5x7's, one written out to Drew and the other to my girlfriend Victoria! He personalized both pictures, and wrote "to bacon" on my picture, which reminds me of one of his finest moments on the show. I surprised my girlfriend with the other autograph as a late Christmas present and she really loved it. I wrote in the letter that I wanted to give her an autograph of his for Christmas, and he must've read that because he wrote on my letter "Sorry if I'm late!", which was an added bonus.

Overall, this success may not stand out to anyone unless they've watched Parks & Recreation (strongly recommend it to any of you dry humor lovers), but is one of my favorite personal successes yet! Thank you so much Mr. Offerman for the amazing Christmas gift, and See Ya!

TTM #129- Another Walker Killing Pro!

Hey guys, Drew back here! My senior year is now underway, and it has already shown signs of being by far the best year of school. The workload hasn't been horrible, and having a car has really made things less stressful on me. Unfortunately, before long I'll be having to submit applications to colleges, so it won't all be fun, but I'm looking forward to seeing where I get accepted and to making a decision in general. On that note, check out this awesome success I recently got through the mail!

I got Rick's autograph (Andrew Lincoln) already, but I knew I wouldn't be content until I ended up with Daryl's! Norman Reedus, the rising star of AMC's "The Walking Dead", signed this 8x10 for me in a little over a 3 month wait! As I mentioned in my last "Walking Dead" post, I've been an avid fan since last fall, and this spring I mailed to a few members of the cast. Daryl, Reedus' character, is my favorite on the show by a longshot, so I was thrilled to see this come back! He personalized it to me, and although he signed it in red, it still looks pretty nice!

Any of you guys into the show? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

See Ya!

TTM #77- Another Crazy Celebrity Addition!

Hey guys, Drew back here. Well, I finally made myself some what of a come back, posting over 20 times for the first time since earlier this year. I definitely have gotten back into it, as I've spent a ridiculous amount of money on the hobby over this summer vacation. Unfortunately, with September approaching, school is coming right back into the picture. So, the next couple months will be rough on here, as 10th grade is definitely going to be a challenge. Anyways, I still have one more week to go, so I'm going to make the most of it. We'll start with a TTM success I got when I returned home from the card show, a TTM that I had completely forgotten about sending...

I don't know if this is real or fake, but I have to say, it would be sweet if this is an actual Johnny Depp autograph! I made the custom card one day when I was bored, about perhaps the most "Popular Pirate" around, Jack Sparrow! Regardless of the Pirates series, Depp is a great actor, even though sometimes he gets a little strange for me to watch. His autograph certainly looks strange, but I guess it fits his personality. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Harry Potter" series' are the only ones out of the new movie series' that I can stand, so it's cool to add an autograph of the most famous actor of those 2 series.

What do you all think of it? Real or fake?

Yes, I had to.

See Ya!